With the increasing cost of food and other grocery items more and more shoppers are utilizing coupons. Retail outlets are also utilizing coupons to attact additional customers.
One major drawback to collecting coupons is keeping the coupons organized and preventing their loss. For instance, when a shopper is pushing his cart, the shopper wants to easily compare the product with his available coupons without fumbling through a disorganized stack of coupons. In the present invention this is accomplished by a rotatable clipboard which swings into a conveniently viewed position.
Also, a complication also arises with coupons when the customer forgets to turn his coupons into the checker. Invariably, the customer returns at a later time to collect his refund due to the coupon. This leaves the store owner in a dilemma: refund the money and open up a source of loss to the store, or not refund the money and create a source of hard feelings. The present invention is sufficiently versatile to be placed in a position to be viewed by a store checker and a checker can be given such a responsibility, thereby assuring the transacting of coupons at the same time as the goods are sold.
A number of United States patents have addressed themselves to the application of clipboard or attachment devices to grocery carts for holding of notes and other papers.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,864,189 a device for holding or supporting a merchandise advertising sheet is disclosed. This device holds the shopper's checklist in an upright, permanent position on the handle of the pushcart for easy reference. Because of its construction, it actually requires nuts and bolts to be assembled onto the pushcart. Consequently, in the event the shopper does not want to use the device it cannot be easily removed.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,539,204 a clipboard for a shopping cart is disclosed. This invention provides an attachment for a shopping cart which will hold paper to a board. Thus, because of its construction it is not highly adaptable to the use of holding several coupons. Also, this device is not easily detachable to the pushcart as its construction is such that pressures must be applied at directed position in order to remove the board from the pushcart. Thus, the user would have no control over whether or not it is actually utilized or not.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,964,134 a grocery cart with clip attachment is disclosed. This device is adaptable for use to hold a pad of paper and a writing instrument, such as a pencil. It is attached to the side of the pushcart for easy reference. One possible drawback with this invention is the stability created therewith. Since it is constructed of plastic type material and attached to the side of the circular rod it is highly unlikely that it will not experience a twisting motion when pressure is applied to its ends when in use.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,156,318 an attachment for shopping carts is disclosed. This device may be pivotally connected to the rear wall of the shopping cart. Because of design limitations it cannot be detached without great effort. Thus, because of its positioning, it will actually obstruct the use of space in the shopping cart itself.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,888,761 a directory and clipboard combination device is disclosed. Because of its construction, it is not practical to the new type of shopping cart. Thus, if it was secured to a shopping cart, it would actually hinder the use, because it would block the front portion of the cart where handbags and younger children may be placed.
Thus, as described hereinabove, the above patents do not disclose a practical device which will allow its users to have the flexibility of use or not. In essence, these devices, once installed, cannot be removed or set aside by the customer. It would be highly desirable to have a device which could be used or not without being detached. Because of this device's rotating capacity, it may be actually laid to rest parallel with the side of the grocery cart. Also, because its construction will be from solid type metal material, its strength and stability will greatly exceed that of the prior patents discussed above.
Finally, a further complication arises when the use of the clipboard is either not needed or not desired. The present invention solves this problem by rotating to rest parallel with one of the sides of the grocery cart. This rotation allows for ease in stacking. The present invention is also effective in stacking when the user forgets to rotate the paper clip holder. The plate which holds the coupons and papers is sufficiently flat to allow the clip holder to slip between the openings present in conventional spaces found in grocery carts.